Joshua Cowell School eighth graders show their Cougar Pride as they applaud during their afternoon promotion ceremonies on the campus courtyard Tuesday.

ROSE ALBANO RISSO/The Bulletin/

Change and making a difference were the key words that echoed throughout the promotion ceremonies Tuesday at Joshua Cowell Elementary School.

Student speakers and Principal Bonnie Bennett wrapped their messages around the three words.

Be the change you want to be.

Be the change you want to see in the world.

Change is a chain reaction, that’s how you can change the world.

Seize the “small opportunities” to make a difference, even by just saying “Good morning” and asking people around how they are doing when you come to school.

Make a difference even in the smallest way possible and change the world.

“There’s indeed hope for us all as we listen to their dreams,” commented Principal Bonnie Bennett about the students’ shared sentiments.

The promotion ceremony for the eighth graders was a bittersweet ceremony. It was evident in the ribbon pins that each student wore on the lapel of their blue graduation gowns: a picture of their late classmate, Marvin “Russell” Bledsoe, Jr., who died on March 24 this year. Bennett remembered Bledsoe, Jr. as a 4.0 student who held a perfect attendance and was president of the Student Body. He dreamed of attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and at the Hebrew University in Israel to become an astrophysicist. As Bennett presented a plaque of appreciation to Dr. Marvin Bledsoe,Sr., the graduates and all those gathered in the school courtyard for the graduation gave the Manteca pediatric dentist a standing ovation.